Missing Mannequins Puzzle Thrift Store Owner

DANIA BEACH — When Christine Ruffini's mannequin Thriftarella was stolen from in front of her consignment shop in July, she thought it was a simple prank.

But this week, when Ruffini noticed her latest mannequin, Thriftarella's sister, was taken away from the very same location, she felt her store was being targeted.

Ruffini doesn't care whether it was an evil prince who snatched Thriftarella from her shop, Catch My Thrift, or some silly pranksters -- she simply wants the mannequins back.

Ruffini filed a report with the police at around 4 p.m. on Tuesday when she returned to the store and noticed that Thriftarella's sister was no longer sitting in the wicker chair in the front of the store.

Her store, on Griffin Road near I-95, was open and being manned by a friend around the time the mannequin disappeared, Ruffini said. Her friend, she said, was not aware the mannequin was gone.

"Now I'm getting really upset,'' said Ruffini, who said she waited three months before replacing the first mannequin. "The first time I would have thought it was a prank, but so much time has elapsed and it's happened again.''

The missing mannequin, which is used as an advertising tool, was dressed in patriotic red and white and blue, donned brown hair and weighed about 40 pounds, she said. The mannequin is worth between $200 and $300, she said, and is made of fiberglass.

Ruffini said she placed it outside of her store for the first time on Monday.

On Tuesday when she left around 1 p.m. to run errands, the mannequin was still in her seat outside. At about 3:30 when she returned it was gone.

The only thing in front of the store now is the wicker chair the mannequin had been sitting in, she said.

A sergeant with the Broward Sheriff's Office in Dania Beach said authorities are treating the incident as a petty theft. No one witnessed the mannequin being snatched, police said, and there have been no reports of other mannequins being stolen elsewhere recently in the city.

Catch My Thrift has been at the Griffin road location, in a small strip small, for five years. Ruffini said she received an overwhelming response from the community when Thriftarella was stolen months ago.

Ruffini's customers had taken part in selecting her name, in a competition that also served as a charity fund-raiser.

Ruffini was preparing to send out postcards to let her customers know Thriftarella had been replaced and she was considering having another competition to name the latest mannequin.

"What a horrible thing,'' said Ruffini. "Now I don't know if I should get another one or wait and see.''

Georgia East can be reached at geast@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7921.